Grass not always greener: Numbers force Milan to reflect on Pioli and Fonseca decisions

AC Milan decided to make a change midway through the season, sacking Paulo Fonseca in favour of hiring Sergio Conceicao.

However, there was a choice that came before that: to move on from Stefano Pioli at the end of last season. Milan are currently in ninth place and are currently set to not participate in any European competition next season, reaching lows that haven’t been seen since 2014-15.

It is a sporting failure which would also have economic consequences, because not playing in the Champions League, the Europa League nor the Conference League in the 2025-26 season hurts the accounts. Thus, another revolution seems imminent.

The comparison with Pioli

As highlighted by that stats outlet Opta, furthermore, Milan have amassed less than 50 points after the first 31 games of the season in Serie A for the third time in the last 10 seasons, after 2015/16 (49) and 2019/20 (49).

In those cases, the Rossoneri closed those season in seventh and sixth place in the table respectively. Moreover, at this point in the season, Milan – then coached by Pioli – were on 68 points, a whole 20 points ahead of what has been managed under Fonseca and Conceicao.

The Rossoneri closed last season second place and qualified for the Champions League. Another interesting fact is that with 68 points Milan would be at the top of the table currently, battling for the Scudetto with Inter and Napoli. Maybe the grass wasn’t greener after all?